US FBI: No evidence of attack in Border Patrol agent's death

19:11 08 february 2018

19:11 08 february 2018 Source:
Associated Press

U.S. border patrol agent may have died from fall, not attack -memo

A federal investigation into the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Texas has found no evidence he was attacked, as President Donald Trump suggested at the time, but may have died from a fall, an internal federal agency memo shows. The message from Kevin McAleenan, acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to his staff said an exhaustive probe into the death of agent Rogelio Martinez was still under way but had not yet turned up any signs he was the victim of a crime. Load Error "We do not know all the answers at this time.

Border patrol agent ' s death still a mystery 03:40. Story highlights. The FBI has released no information to support the idea that Martinez was murdered, or that he and the surviving agent were attacked .

FBI eyes brothers in possible attack on Border Patrol agents . No known evidence of assault in Border Patrol agent death . Ochoa said that in her conversations with the FBI , "I did ask if it was possible he was attacked by rocks and I was told there was no evidence he was attacked by rocks."

DALLAS — FBI officials said Wednesday that the investigation into the November death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent has yielded no evidence that there was a "scuffle, altercation or attack" more than two months after President Donald Trump and others used the suggestion of an attack to promote the building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Border Patrol agent death: What we know

The mystery surrounding the death of US Border Patrol agent Rogelio "Roger" Martinez is nowhere close to being solved. In the more than two months since Martinez's patrolled the West Texas desert for the last time, the FBI interviewed hundreds of people, combed through cellular data and analyzed DNA from the scene. Yet, authorities are still trying to determine how Martinez got injured and eventually died. Here is what we know about the mysterious death and the investigation. What happened?Martinez, 36, died late on the evening of November 18.

FBI eyes brothers in possible attack on Border Patrol agents . No known evidence of assault in Border Patrol agent death . Ochoa said that in her conversations with the FBI , "I did ask if it was possible he was attacked by rocks and I was told there was no evidence he was attacked by rocks."

FBI eyes brothers in possible attack on Border Patrol agents . No known evidence of assault in Border Patrol agent death . Ochoa said that in her conversations with the FBI , "I did ask if it was possible he was attacked by rocks and I was told there was no evidence he was attacked by rocks."

Investigators have conducted more than 650 interviews and involved 37 field offices in their probe, but have not found definitive evidence of an attack, the FBI said in a statement. The investigation will continue and the reward of up to $50,000 for information that closes the case will remain.

"To date none of the more than 650 interviews completed, locations searched, or evidence collected and analyzed have produced evidence that would support the existence of a scuffle, altercation, or attack on November 18, 2017," said the release from the El Paso office of Emmerson Buie, a special agent in charge.

Rogelio Martinez died from injuries he sustained while he and his partner were responding to reports of unknown activity the night of Nov. 18 near Van Horn, a Texas town near the Mexico border about 110 miles (175 kilometers) southeast of El Paso.

77 unauthorized immigrants found in UPS truck near border

SAN DIEGO - A traffic stop on what appeared to be a brown UPS truck in the San Diego County community of Boulevard on Monday evening revealed 77 unauthorized immigrants stuffed shoulder-to-shoulder inside its hot cargo area. Five children were found traveling among the overheated group of Mexican nationals, who admitted to being in the U.S. illegally, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in San Diego federal court.A California Highway Patrol officer pulled the truck over before 5 p.m. because the vehicle had no tags and was weaving on Old Highway 80, about a mile west of Tierra Del Sol Road.A U.S.

FBI eyes brothers in possible attack on Border Patrol agents . No known evidence of assault in Border Patrol agent death . Ochoa said that in her conversations with the FBI , "I did ask if it was possible he was attacked by rocks and I was told there was no evidence he was attacked by rocks."

No known evidence of assault in Border Patrol agent death , despite official statements. Ochoa said that in her conversations with the FBI , "I did ask if it was possible he was attacked by rocks and I was told there was no evidence he was attacked by rocks."

Martinez's partner radioed for help before both agents were airlifted to the hospital, where 36-year-old Martinez died a few hours later. The partner— who suffered from head injuries— was released from the hospital after several days, but told investigators he could not remember the incident.

The FBI release Wednesday noted that a dispatcher, who was among the people interviewed by investigators, took the call from the surviving agent. According to the release, the dispatcher wrote in his log that, "(He) thinks they (both agents) ran into a culvert."

An autopsy report from the El Paso County medical examiner's office released Tuesday night shed little light on what caused the serious injuries that Martinez suffered. The report listed "blunt force trauma" as the cause of death, but said the manner of his death was undetermined.

Dr. Janice Diaz-Cavalliery, assistant medical examiner, found that Martinez had a skull fracture, a fractured eye socket, multiple rib fractures and a broken collarbone, according to the 11-page report. She found brain hemorrhaging but no other internal injuries.

<p>Family members have gathered for years at Friendship Park to share quiet conversations and "pinky kisses" through metal mesh fencing that separates San Diego and Tijuana. A new Border Patrol policy now limits those visits to 30 minutes.</p>Under the new policy, a spokesman for the agency's San Diego sector confirmed, no more than 10 people can be in the area, which sits between two border enforcement fences, at the same time.

Law enforcement officials investigate the death of a Border Patrol agent . The FBI has released no information to support the idea that Martinez was murdered, or that he and the surviving agent were attacked .

FBI eyes brothers in possible attack on Border Patrol agents . No known evidence of assault in Border Patrol agent death . Ochoa said that in her conversations with the FBI , "I did ask if it was possible he was attacked by rocks and I was told there was no evidence he was attacked by rocks."

A Border Patrol union, the National Border Patrol Council, has previously said the pair was attacked and struck with a rock or rocks. Messages left with representatives of the group were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also have said the two were attacked, with Trump using the incident to renew his call for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump has repeatedly linked immigration to criminality in making his case for tighter border security. Earlier this week, Trump called on Democrats to "get tough" on immigration, citing the death of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson, who was killed in a suspected drunken-driving crash involving a Guatemalan citizen living illegally in the U.S. Manuel Orrego-Savala was charged Wednesday with two counts each of causing death while driving intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.

Investigators had looked into tips about several persons of interest including two in New Mexico. While other charges were filed against several individuals, none of those charges are related to Martinez's death, the FBI release said, adding that they are not "currently a subject in the investigation."

Trooper meets man recreating cross-country run from 'Forrest Gump' .
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper will never forget an interaction he had Saturday morning. Trooper Christopher Reeves saw a man running along a highway pushing what looked to be a baby carriage on a day when the temperatures were in the 20s and the wind chill was in the single digits. "When I was able to get to him, it turned out to be an interesting contact," Reeves told OHP officials, who posted the interaction on Facebook.&nbsp;An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper will never forget an interaction he had Saturday morning.

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